


And The Wedding Bells Ring

by TheNightFury



Series: Prince of Lasan [2]
Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Fluff, M/M, Prince of Lasan, Wedding, Wedding Day, lots of fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-02
Updated: 2018-12-02
Packaged: 2019-09-05 23:22:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16820512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheNightFury/pseuds/TheNightFury
Summary: As Lasan prepares for the marriage of their future king, Alexsandr Kallus works through his fears and worries about the possibility of becoming a prince as he prepares to marry the love of his life.





	And The Wedding Bells Ring

**Author's Note:**

> Yay another part of the Royal AU! This AU Has basically consumed my life and this might have been done sooner had my computer not crashed and corrupted a bunch of files oh well. Anyways enjoy!!

As Alexsandr Kallus peacefully slept in his shared room with his now fiancé Zeb, a storm raged on outside his window, darkening the normally bright sky as thunder boomed, startling him awake. The storm had relentlessly raged the city for the past week and it seemed the storm would continue on that day as well, causing endless worry for Alex who feared the storm would not pass for their wedding in three days’ time. Chava however had insisted the storm would pass and would not allow them to push the wedding back, Usually Alex would trust her, however with how long the storm was lasting, he was starting to have his doubts. Alex worriedly glanced over at Zeb’s side of the bed, sighing when he found it was once again empty.

Ever since Alex had moved to Lira San six months ago, nearly every morning Zeb would be gone before Alex even woke up. It was extremely frustrating, especially since Alex was forbidden from even attending any of the meetings Zeb was attending since he technically was not yet apart of the royal family. Zeb believed Alex should be a part of these meetings since he was marrying Zeb and would therefore technically become a prince himself, but the queen continued to stubbornly refuse, and a part of Alex was almost grateful. He loved Zeb with every fiber of his being, and was excited to spend the rest of his life with Zeb, but he would be lying if he said he was not terrified at the prospect of technically becoming a royal.

Being the son of a senator had been a nightmare for him growing up, he could only imagine how much worse it would be once he became a prince. Worse, what if the people hated him, what if they resented him because he was an outsider marrying the sole heir to the throne? What if he would be seen as the man who destroyed the royal lineage because he, a man, married the sole heir, another man, and they could never have children? The thoughts ruthlessly swirled through his mind, keeping him awake most nights long after Zeb had fallen asleep, arms tightly wrapped around him.

The dark thoughts where pushed out of his mind as his eyes landed on a small bouquet of bright yellow flowers that where carefully placed on Zeb’s pillow. Sitting up, Alex picked up the bouquet and brought it closer to his face to smell the flowers, smiling softly. Even when Zeb wasn’t in the room with him, he found a way to bring a smile to Alex’s face. Carefully Alex stood up and walked over to the table in the middle of the room, pulling out the old flowers that were basically dead and filling it with water before placing the new ones inside, carefully rearranging them inside the vase.

How Zeb kept managing to find such beautiful flowers in the middle of a storm was beyond Alex, but it only made him appreciate the gesture even more. It showed what Zeb was willing to do to make Alex happy. It almost made Alex feel guilty for not going through the same amount of effort for Zeb. Was there something he could do for Zeb to make his day a little better? With how many flowers Zeb was getting for Alex, giving Zeb flowers would probably not feel as special as it felt for Alex. Though Alex loved cooking, Zeb and Alex got to eat meals together almost every day made by the chefs in the palace, but maybe something homemade would feel more special?

A pair of arms unexpectedly wrapped themselves around Alex’s waist as warm lips pressed against Alex’s cheek. “Hello handsome.” Zeb breathed.

“You’re back early,” Alex said.

“My dear sweet aunt just wanted to give me the bad news,” Zeb mumbled, hugging Alex a little tighter.

“Bad news?”

“My aunt told me she and the ruling council decided you would only get the title of duke of Lasan, not prince like you deserve-“

Immense relief flooded Alex’s veins as he said, “Zeb, I-I don’t need the title of prince. The title of your husband is all I honestly want.”

“If you had been a Lasat they would without question give you the title you deserve,” Zeb snapped as Alex twisted around to face Zeb.

“Maybe,” Alex agreed, “But I do not need the title of prince to be happy. All I care about is being able to spend every day of the rest of my life with you.”

“I know,” Zeb agreed, a small smile flashing on his face. “You just deserve better treatment then this.”

“It’s just your aunt that doesn’t like me,” Alex said. “Everyone else treats me well enough.”

“Well enough is not good enough,” Zeb grumbled.

“Zeb, no one treats me badly-“

“Alex-“

“Please drop it,” Alex sighed, “the reason I almost didn’t accept your proposal….is because I was terrified of the crown. So me not being named a prince is a huge relief. I can focus on being a good husband to you after your long hard day of being a royal.”

Zeb smiled and pecked his lips before saying, “I wish you were by my side ruling with me, but I understand why you feel the way you do. So as long as we get married, I will be very happy.”

“Good,” Alex breathed, pecking him back.

“Speaking of being a good husband….can we practice being a good husband?” Zeb purred.

“Depends on what that entails,” Alex whispered.

“I can show you if you’d like,” Zeb said as he leaned in to kiss him again.

“Please do,” Alex breathed, pulling Zeb closer, who eagerly kissed him, arms snaking around Alex’s waist as he melted into the kiss. As Zeb pulled Alex closer, he wrapped his arms around Zeb’s neck, sighing in pleasure. Far too soon for Alex’s liking however, there was an urgent knock at the door with a guardsman saying,

“Sire, the queen is looking for you, you’re late for the meeting.”

“Every time,” Zeb grumbled, their faces still centimeters apart.

“It’s her evil plot to keep us apart,” Alex said.

“I won’t let her succeed,” Zeb assured, a small laugh escaping Alex.

“I know you won’t.” Alex said, smirking at him.

“Good,” Zeb said.

“I love you,”

“I love you too,” Zeb breathed, pecking his lips. “I’ll see you tonight.”

“Do I really have to wait that long?” Alex asked, tracing his hands down Zeb’s chest.

“Unfortunately,” Zeb said.

“Darn,” Alex sighed, “Guess you’ll have to make it up to me tonight.”

“I can’t wait,” Zeb said as the guardsman pounded on the door,

“Your highness please the queen is getting impatient!”

“Go,” Alex breathed, pecking his lips.

“Trying to get rid of me?” Zeb teasingly asked.

“More like trying to keep your aunt from hating me more then she already does,” Alex corrected.

“Well when you put it that way,” Zeb sarcastically said.

“Zeb-“

“Going going,” Zeb sighed, throwing open the door and saying, “Alright let’s get this over with.” Earning an amused laugh from Alex. Maybe that was the whole point. Regardless, Zeb pecked Alex on the cheek one last time before following the frazzled guard down the corridor. Alex chuckled to himself as he made his way to Chava’s room. Though he brushed it off with Zeb, he really was confused as to why Chava wanted to see him again. He’d already tried on everything he would be wearing at the wedding and everything was already perfectly tailored to him and ready to go and the rings were even sized. What could Chava possibly need from him?

“Ah there you are!” Chava cried.

“Chava hello,” Alex awkwardly said.

“Now come with me, we have much left to do to prepare you!”

“Prepare?” Alex asked. “I thought everything was prepared for the wedding-“

“Not for the wedding!” Chava said with a laugh. “For the crowning ceremony.”

“Chava you must not have heard I am not-“

“Oh yes you are!” Chava declared.

“The queen-“

“Will see reason and will crown you prince,” Chava said.

“How can you be so sure?”

“Trust me child,” Chava said. “She will and now we need to prepare you for the ceremony.”

“But Zeb isn’t even-“

“Now come, we need to get you fitted for a crown since that will take time to make and we need to make some ceremonial clothes-“

“But I already have so many-“

“It is tradition to make special ceremonial clothes for this event,” Chava chided, “They are used only for royal events.”

“I don’t need these I won’t-“ Alex protested but Chava was not listening and had already begun taking measurements.

“Don’t you have all of these-“

“I don’t have anything for your crown!” Chava said. “Now stand still!” Alex sighed heavily but reluctantly obeyed her commands but asked,

“What makes you so certain the queen will change her mind?” Alex asked.

“Because the council told me they were reconsidering their position,” Chava nonchalantly said.

“W-wait what?” Alex cried.

“Why are you upset?” Chava asked. “Isn’t this what you wanted?”

“N-n- I mean I want to marry Zeb I love him but I don’t need the crown-“

“Well want it or not, you will be prince.” Chava said, stunning him into silence. He was going to be a prince?

\----------

Alexsandr Kallus, soon to be Orrelios, did not have panic attacks. He once worked for and trained with the Empire, an organization that refuses to allow any sort of weakness and having a panic attack certainly was a weakness. No, this was not a panic attack, he was just very, very nervous and his body was making certain that he knew that fact. Zeb however did not see it that way.

“Alex? Alex are you okay?” Zeb asked the second he walked into their room. Alex wanted to assure Zeb that he was fine, but it was like his body was refusing to listen to him anymore. All he could do was sit there and shake uncontrollably as his breathing became more and more erratic.

“Alex, hey, hey listen to me.” Zeb breathed in a soothing voice, placing his hands on his shoulder’s rubbing them gently in a calming manner. “I’m right here, I don’t know what’s wrong but whatever it is, it is going to be okay, I promise. I am right here. I’m right here and it will be okay.”

“How do you know?” Alex finally choked out.

“Because we’re a team Alex,” Zeb said, hands rubbing down his arms until he took his hands. “We’re a team and when we’re together we are unstoppable.”

“I’m scared,” Alex said. “Chava said the council is reconsidering and might push the queen to make me a prince h-how can I be a prince I-I-“

“Hey, hey slow down,” Zeb said. “Deep breaths okay. Just like me okay?” Alex swallowed thickly but did what Zeb asked, taking slow deep breaths until the trembling stopped and he could breathe normally again.

“I’m sorry….” Alex mumbled.

“Why should you be sorry?” Zeb asked, gently wiping the tears off of his face and leaning forward to kiss his cheek. “You’re under a lot of stress, and it gets to everyone at some point.” Alex let out a heavy sigh, leaning into Zeb’s hand.

“What did I do to deserve you?”

“I ask myself that about you almost every day.” Zeb breathed, pecking Alex’s lips. Alex weakly chuckled at his declaration as Zeb continued, “Is there anything else on your mind you want to talk about?”

“I know it’s silly but…..I can’t help but wonder if-…” Alex let out another sigh, “You’ll laugh.”

“I would never laugh at you,” Zeb firmly said, taking Alex’s hands in his own once more. “Ever. Especially if it’s something that’s upsetting you.”

“This storm...” Alex began, “my parents always said a storm on the day of one’s wedding is a sign that the marriage is doomed…”

“The wedding is still a few days away,” Zeb gently said.

“This storm has been going on for days-“ Alex said, body tensing. “How do we know it’s going to-“

“Listen,” Zeb said, falling silent.

“Listen to what it’s silent-“

“Exactly,” Zeb said, eyes lighting up. “It’s silent.”

“It’s silent,” Alex echoes, a wide smile spreading across his face as the pair bolted to the window, throwing them open to find that the rain had in fact stopped.

“See, I told you it would all be okay,” Zeb said, wrapping an arm around Alex’s shoulders and pulling him close.

“Yes you did,” Alex agreed with an eye roll, wrapping an arm around Zeb’s waist and leaning into the embrace. “No need to be cocky.” Zeb barked out a laugh as he nuzzled his face into Alex’s hair.

“I won’t,” Zeb assured. “What kind of a sign is this?”

“A good one,” Alex assured. “A very, very good one.”

\-------

Over the next two days, the sun burned through the storm clouds and dried the grounds, allowing the servants to finally set everything up for the wedding, and just in time. Had the storm lasted any longer Alex wasn’t sure the ground would have dried soon enough for them to set up. Chava swore this was a sign, that the Ashla was watching over them and had personally given her blessing for the wedding.

Despite all of this however, Alex couldn’t calm down the night before their wedding. Initially, Alex had though he and Zeb would get to spend the night before together, however before Zeb could enter their room, Chava and Efrem had ambushed Zeb and said he could not see Alex before their wedding because according to the humans it would bring bad luck to their marriage and since Alex was human they had to tread carefully. Alex thought the myth was stupid and just that a myth, but Chava unfortunately took it seriously and now forbade contact between Alex and Zeb until the wedding.

They didn’t understand how horrible of a mistake this was, Alex had never been more stressed in his life, he needed his fiancé by his side, to help him keep his head on straight and to not crumple back into another panic attack. But Chava didn’t understand, she feared the mythological more than a panic attack.

All of this led to Alec frantically pacing back and forth in his room on the night before his wedding, trying to calm his nerves. He had no regrets about accepting Zeb’s proposal, he wanted to marry Zeb more than anything, wanted to spend his life with him. Despite all of this, Alex was a nervous wreck as he waited, barely able to breathe as he waited for his wedding.

He knew why he was terrified, he knew the council was reconsidering their position and might decide to crown him after all, and the thought of being a prince was more terrifying than he could have ever imagined. Billions of living beings looking up to him for guidance and protection, with no training or understanding of the royal court. Was he ready? Could he do this?

Alex let out a shaky sigh as her wrapped his arms around himself, wishing it was Zeb’s arms around him instead of his own. He would give anything for Zeb to be there with him, he always knew how to put things into perspective, how to calm him down when his overactive mind took a dangerous death spiral into the ‘what ifs’.

All he wanted right then was Zeb’s strong, warm arms around him. When he was there, he knew everything would be okay.

A tentative knock on the door snapped Alex out of his spiraling thoughts back to reality.

“Coming,” Alex called, walking over to the door. Before he could open it however, Zeb exclaimed,

“Don’t open it! It’s me!”

“Zeb? What are you doing here?” Alex exclaimed. “Chava will be furious-“

“I won’t see you,” Zeb said through the still closed door. “I just- I…” Zeb trailed off with a heavy sigh, Alex imagine him leaning against the door, wishing he could open it. “I’m a nervous mess and I just needed to hear your voice…”

“You too?” Alex asked, settling himself on the floor, leaning against the door, he could hear Zeb doing the same.

“Yea.” Zeb sheepishly admitted.

“I’m glad it’s not just me,” Alex sighed.

“What’s got you nervous?” Zeb asked.

“Terrified I’ll disappoint your people,” Alex admitted. “I don’t know what they want from me, do they want me to step up and rule by your side or do they want me to step back because I’m human? Not knowing what they want from me makes this terrifying because I could do something wrong and not even know it….”

“Don’t worry about all of that,” Zeb gently assured. “No matter what I will always love you.”

“I know,” Alex whispered, placing his hand on the door, imaging Zeb placing his hand right over the same spot on the other side of the door. “I want your people to at least tolerate me.”

“Our people,” Zeb corrected.

“That’s still hard to wrap my mind around,” Alex admitted.

“It does take some getting used to,” Zeb agreed.

“Why are you nervous?” Alex asked after a minute of silence.

“Don’t laugh,” Zeb said.

“I could never laugh at you,” Alex tenderly said.

“My dad always talked about traditional Lasan weddings,” Zeb reluctantly began. “He talked about how he and my mom prepared for the ceremony together and walked down the aisle side by side.”

“That’s very different from a traditional Coruscant wedding,” Alex said.

“On Lasan it’s believed that to ensure a strong marriage, the couple should prepare for their new life together.”

“That sounds nice,” Alex admitted. “I would feel a lot better having you right here with me…”

“Why do Coruscant people have the tradition of not seeing each other before the wedding?”

“It’s not just Coruscant, most humans follow the tradition,” Alex sighed. “It started back when arranged marriages were more common, back then usually the couple didn’t meet until the wedding day because the parents of the bride feared if the groom saw her and didn’t think she was pretty enough they would call off the wedding.”

“Disgusting,” Zeb spat.

“Agreed,” Alex said. “I told Chava I hated it but she wouldn’t listen. She insisted it was important to integrate both cultures into the wedding.”

“She told me that too.” Zeb admitted. “I wish some other tradition was brought in. It feels wrong not getting ready with you.”

“I can understand that,” Alex assured. “It sounds so much nicer, preparing together, sharing worries and excitements together instead of being alone, terrified. I mean you’re technically here but….this stupid door makes it feel like we’re a million lightyears apart.”

“I know what you mean.” Zeb said. “I wish I could hold you right now.”

“Tomorrow is too far away,” Alex agreed. “I want us to be married already.”

“My dad says it will be tomorrow before I know it but I do not believe him,” Zeb admitted.

“I have to agree,” Alex said. “We should have eloped and skipped this.”

“You know Chava and my dad wouldn’t have let us,” Zeb sighed. “Besides, if we eloped I wouldn’t get to see you walking down the aisle.”

“Oh Zeb….” Alex breathed, face burning, Zeb couldn’t see him, but somehow he just knew how flustered he managed to make Alex.

“I love seeing you get all flustered,” Zeb said.

“You can’t see me right now though!”

“No but I can imagine what your face looks like,” Zeb breathed. “Bright red and flustered but still the most handsome man on the planet.”

“Oh Zeb-“ Alex breathed, heart fluttering.

“What it’s true!”

“I love you Zeb,” Alex declared. “More than words can properly express-“

“Aww come on Alex, we gotta save the mushy romantic stuff for tomorrow!”

“I know,” Alex sighed.

“I love you too,” Zeb whispered.

“Trust me, I know,” Alex gently assured. “I can never forget.”

“Good,” Zeb said.

“Sire, I’m sorry it’s time for you to get going,” One of the guards said.

“Aw karabast, okay, okay can I just have one minute alone to say goodbye?” Zeb asked.

“Of course,” the guard said.

“Well that was over too soon,” Zeb sighed, Alex could hear Zeb getting to his feet, so Alex slowly did the same.

“I agree but, we’ll see each other in the morning,” Alex assured.

“I know,” Zeb sighed. “….close your eyes.”

“Why…?” Alex slowly asked, guessing what Zeb might be up too.

“Just trust me,” Zeb asked.

“….alright,” Alex sighed, shutting his eyes. “They’re closed.”

“Good,” Zeb said, and after a beat, Alex heard the door open, and a pair of warm soothing hands cupped his face and awkwardly kissed his face just under his eye. “That was more romantic in my head.” Zeb breathed, pressing his forehead against Alex’s.

“No, it was perfect,” Alex breathed, wrapping his arms around Zeb’s neck and trying to kiss him back, hitting the corner of his mouth just as a guard shouted,

“Hey!” And ripped Zeb out of his arms, the door whooshing shut. Alex wrapped his arms around himself, and opened his eyes, a soft smile on his face as he let his mind wander back to the feeling of Zeb holding him, kissing him. Soon, he just had to wait until tomorrow.

\-----

The courtyard was in complete chaos as servants and honor guards alike scrambled to finish the last minute touches for the wedding later that day. Alex was in essence still in solitary confinement so Alex and Zeb wouldn’t see each other until Alex walked down the aisle. From experience, Efrem knew it was a wondrous moment, one Zeb would never forget, but it didn’t make Zeb any less anxious to see Alex. Efrem glanced over to where he left his son to help oversee the preparations who had once again gone back to longingly staring up at the castle in an attempt to catch a glimpse of his beloved groom to be.

Efrem couldn’t help but smile at the scene, Zeb’s longing yet adoring gaze, the way his eyes lit up when he thought Alex’s shadow crossed the open window. Zeb however was being too obvious in what he was doing, as one of the guards in Alex’s room soon noticed what Zeb was doing and shut the window and pulled the curtains shut, ensuring Zeb would not catch a glimpse of his beloved. Zeb’s shoulders slumped forward in defeat, unable to tear his gaze from the window.

After a quick glance around the courtyard, Efrem found everything was well enough in control that he could focus instead on helping get Zeb ready.

“Zeb come on, time for you to get ready,” Efrem said, startling Zeb.

“I wasn’t staring!”

“Of course now,” Efrem said with a smirk, “Come on kit, we need to get you ready for your groom.”

“Yea, right,” Zeb said, reluctantly following Efrem, sending one last longing glance back at the window.

“I know you’re both nervous, but don’t be,” Efrem said as he led Zeb back to the room he was given to prepare in. “Today is going to be the best day of your life, I promise.”

“What if something goes wrong?” Zeb asked. “What if-“

“Even if something goes wrong, nothing can ruin this day for either of you,” Efrem assured. “Today is the day you marry the man you love more than anything else. No matter what happens, nothing can change that fact.”

“…you think so?” Zeb hesitantly asked, looking up at him hopefully.

“I know it,” Efrem assured, earning a smile from Zeb. “Now get ready, I have something to give you and Alex.”

“Really?” Zeb curiously asked as he stepped behind the changing screen to change into his ceremony Honor guard uniform. The queen initially objected but Efrem insisted, he had trained for years with the honor guard along with training to be a royal, he deserved to wear the uniform if he wished, and Zeb had eagerly accepted. It had touched Efrem more than he had expected, knowing his son wanted to carry a part of his father with him on the most important day of his life.

“How is Alex holding up with his family not coming?” Efrem asked to try and fill the silence.

“Mixed feelings,” Zeb said as he stepped out from behind the screen. “He kind of hates his parents for good reason, but a part of him hoped you know?”

“I do,” Efrem admitted, walking to over to help fix Zeb’s clothes. “I can’t imagine how hard this all must be for him.”

“I imagine it’s very hard but….he has alot of trouble expressing how he feels, he thinks it’s a weakness to express how he feels.”

“I blame the Empire,” Efrem grumbled. “They brainwashed him.”

“I can’t argue with you on that,” Zeb sighed.

“We’ll be there for him,” Efrem assured.

“Yea.” Zeb agreed, grinning at him. “Now what was it you needed?”

“First off, I wanted to get your blessing for something.”

“My blessing?” Zeb asked.

“I know you’re my son, but with none of Alex’s family coming, I wanted to follow the human tradition of giving him away- and I understand i-“

“Dad that sounds like an amazing idea” Zeb assured, beaming at him.

“You wouldn’t mind?”

“No dad,” Zeb said. “I think nothing would make Alex happier and he deserves to be happy.”

“You both deserve today to be perfect,” Efrem said as he pulled Zeb into a warm embrace, a warm purr vibrating through his body. “Now come on, I have to give you something and get over to Alex.”

“Aww dad you didn’t have to-“

“Well this is an old Lasat tradition that my and your mother’s father upheld for our wedding that I wanted to continue for you,” Efrem said, leading Zeb over to the bed where he had already laid out two careful handcrafted flower crowns.

“Is one of these-“

“I made them for you and Alex,” Efrem confirmed. “This one is for you,” He continues, picking up the one made entirely of yellow flowers.

“They’re amazing dad,” Zeb said, eyes watering as he barely fought back tears.

“Hey, hey no crying just yet, you’ll be doing plenty of that when you first see your groom,” Efrem teasingly said.

“Yea, yea I know,” Zeb assured, frantically wiping his eyes.

“Come on then,” Efrem said, picking up the flower crown he’d prepared for Zeb. “Let’s finish getting you ready so I can check on Alex.”

“Right,” Zeb agreed, tipping his head down so Efrem could place the crown on his head.

“Perfect,” Efrem said, beaming at his son. “Now for the final gift- your rings.”

“Our rings?” Zeb asked.

“I wanted to pass down mine and your mothers to you but I doubt your mothers would fit Alex’s finger,” Efrem said, pulling a small box out of his pocket. “But I still wanted to carry on the spirit of the Orrelios tradition, I had your mothers ring remade for him.”

“Dad-“ Zeb choked out, beaming at him. “It’s perfect.”

“Like I said, you deserve for today to be perfect,” Efrem said, pulling Zeb into another warm embrace.

“Dad, can you hold onto the rings until it’s time?”

“Of course,” Efrem assure, reluctantly letting go of Zeb.

“You should probably check on Alex now,” Zeb sheepishly said.

“Alright,” Efrem agreed. “I’ll see you soon.”

“Right,” Zeb nervously agreed, excitement and terror written across his face. Efrem flashed one last reaurring smile before stepping out of the room and making his way down the hallways to Alex and Zeb’s room. As he approached the door to their chambers, the guards gave a short nod and silently opened the doors for him. Apparently Alex was already finished getting ready.

Efrem couldn’t help but grin when he caught his first glimpse of Alex. He could practically feel the joy and excitement radiating off of him as Chava and a pair of servants scurried around him. He could also however feel the anxiety surrounding him. Despite all of that though, Efrem was certain Zeb would melt the moment he laid eyes on Alex. The clothes Chava made for him were not of Lasan fashion but didn’t seen to perfectly match Coruscant fashion either but more of a blend of the two. Pure white clothes much like in human tradition with shinning silver buttons and cuff links and a shimmering cape that gently brushed the ground made out of a thin white material with beautiful silver floral patterns.

“Ah there you are captain!” Chava exclaimed, Alex whirling around to face him, a sheepish smile on his face. “We’ve been expecting you for some time now!”

“Sorry, I needed a moment with Zeb,” Efrem said. “Can I have a moment alone with him?”

“Of course, let me know when you’re ready,” Chava said, ushering the servants to follow her out of the room.

“Nervous?” Efrem asked once they had the room to themselves.

“Terrified,” Alex admitted. “Do you think Zeb will like this?”

“He’s going to melt when he sees you,” Efrem assured, earning a grin from Alex.

“You think so?”

“I know it kit,” Efrem assured. “I have a gift for you.”

“A gift….for me?” Alex asked, voice heavy with emotion.

“It is your wedding day,” Efrem said. “On Lasan, it’s tradition for the father to craft a flower crown that represents their child for their wedding and…well since your father isn’t here I thought I would. You’ve always been as good as my son anyways and today, today you will be.” Alex swallowed thickly before throwing his arms around Efrem.

“Thank you so much,” Alex gasped, clinging onto him.

“You haven’t even seen it yet,” Efrem teasingly said.

“I don’t need to, I know it will be perfect,” Alex whispered. Efrem tightly hugged him back, a soft reassuring purr escaping from him.

“Come on,” Efrem said, reluctantly pulling away and picking up the flower crown made of light and dark purple flowers. “These are clematis,” Efrem said, pointing out the dark purple flowers, “They’re known as travelers joy they...they’re not native to Lasan but travelers brought them here hundreds of years ago and despite not being from here they flourished just like you.” Tears started to stream down Alex’s face as he looked up at him with joy that seemed to radiate from his entire being.

“Sorry to interrupt but everyone’s ready,” One of the guards informed the pair.

“We’re just about ready,” Efrem assured. “May I?” He added to Alex, holding up the crown.

“Nothing would make me happier,” Alex said, beaming at Efrem who carefully arranged it on his head.

“Now you’re ready,” Efrem said. “But before you go out, I wanted to um….I wanted to ask something and it is okay if you say no-“

“What is it?” Alex asked.

“I know for most human culture’s it is common for the father to give the bride or in this case groom away and I was hoping you would give me the honor of allowing me to give you away.”

Alex stared at him in shock for several seconds before a wide grin spread across his face. “Yes, yes that-thank you.”

“I should be thanking you, you’ve made my son so happy, happier then I could have ever dreamed he’d be after the queen took him away. So thank you for giving me this honor.” Still beaming Alex threw his arms around him for a brief moment before letting go so Efrem could hold up his arm for him to take which Alex gratefully did. The honor guards led them out to the courtyard and would first walk down the aisle followed by Efrem and Alex. Ordinarily in a traditional Lasat wedding the happy couple would walk down the aisle together, but at Chava’s insistence Zeb would be waiting for them at the altar.

It felt odd knowing this magical moment between them would be on display for all of Lasan, but he understood why Chava wanted it this way, she felt Alex deserved to have some of his peoples traditions honored on this special day, he just wished it was different traditions. Or so he thought until he stepped out with Alex and had the pleasure of seeing Zeb’s face the moment his eyes landed on his groom.

He could practically hear the awed gasp that escaped his lips when he saw Alex, could see the way he lit up as joy filled his being until it overflowed out of him in tears of joy. Maybe the humans were onto something. Having the privilege of seeing the joy in Zeb’s eyes at the sight of his groom? Having the honor of seeing Zeb’s pure joy so powerful it brought him to tears? What other time brought such joy out of a person? What other chance did one have to see someone experience such joy? 

The moment he gave Alex to Zeb, the joy on Zeb’s face morphed into pure love as he tenderly took Alex’s hand and led him to the altar, the way he tenderly cupped Alex’s face in his hands and pressed his forehead against Alex’s and whispered something as tears continued to stream down his face, Alex tenderly wiping away the tears, eyes watering. This moment seemed so intimate that Efrem felt he should look away but he also couldn’t bring himself to. 

When the minister started to speak, Efrem didn’t pay much attention to what he said, and from the look on Alex and Zeb’s face as they held hands and gazed into each others eyes, he was certain they did not hear a thing that the minister said either. The only thing that mattered to them in this moment, was each other. It wasn’t until Zeb and Alex where looking at him expectantly that he remembered he was holding the rings for them and he scrambled to grab the box they were in and carefully presented them to the pair. 

“They’re beautiful,” Alex breathed as he picked up Zeb’s ring. “Thank you.”

“My dad remade them to look exactly like his and my mom’s rings,” Zeb explained as he picked up the one for Alex, gently sliding it onto his finger. “It’s an Orrelios tradition to hand down the wedding rings on the first borns wedding day but my dad realized my mom’s wouldn’t fit your finger so he made these especially for us.”

“Thank you, thank you so much,” Alex breathed beaming at Efrem before turning his attention back to Zeb, right where it should be. This day was about them after all. Alex carefully slid the ring he was holding on Zeb’s finger. And then it was time for the “I do’s”, and the look on Zeb’s face as he whispered to words to Alex as if he were the only person that needed to hear them, because he was the only person that mattered in that moment, Efrem nearly melted. But when Alex uttered the words to Zeb, “I do,” in Lasan, Efrem felt his heart stop and he knew Zeb felt the same. Before the minister even declared they could kiss, Zeb had swept him into a passionate kiss that Alex melted into, eagerly clinging onto Zeb like he was his lifeline. The pair held onto each other far longer than was necessary but he knew when they finally broke apart both would feel like the moment ended far too soon.

The first kiss after marriage, was the most magical kiss they would share, it was one that promised a new beginning for them, filled with hope and joy at the hope of their future together as one. It was every ounce of love they held for each other brought out in a single perfect moment that seemed to last an eternity. When they eventually broke apart, they kept their faces close together, beaming at each other with teary eyes, unable to look away until the minister declared, 

“I now present to you Prince Garazeb Orrelios and his new husband Duke Alexsandr Orrelios.” At the declaration they finally looked out into the crowd that had gathered to witness this moment, who were now on their feet cheering at the newly married couple as they walked back down the aisle towards where the grand reception would be held. It would be the place the world officially met the Orrelios’s for the first time, and the place their new lives together would finally begin.


End file.
